The Pros of Rain-Activated Roof Cleaners
There are several companies out there that use a product that’s promoted as being completely bio-friendly and is activated by the rain. Once applied, it will slowly work over a period of time and will eventually clean your roof. The benefit from this rain-activated roof cleaner is that it doesn’t have the negative impact on plants that is sometimes associated with a chlorine-based cleaning process. The details of what’s in the product are normally hidden under the banner of a trademark name, but you can tell they are using it if they say, “it’s activated by the rain and works over time.”
A bio-friendly/rain-activated process is not a bad option to go with. Especially if you have a huge investment in plants around your home or if the way your home is structured makes it difficult to manage the runoff from the roof. In some extreme cases, we have actually recommended this type of solution.
The Cons of Rain-Activated Roof Cleaners
However, the negative from these rain-activated roof cleaners is that the roof won’t be clean after the company leaves. And, understandably, many people are a bit reluctant to pay someone and wait for the outcome they’re looking for. Depending on precipitation, it can actually take months versus weeks to come fully clean – which may not play well if your HOA has issued you a letter mandating a roof cleaning. There are also cases where a company has had to come back and re-apply the solution to areas that just didn’t come clean.
From a price standpoint, the bio-friendly/rain-activated process seems to be at the higher end of the scale. This is probably due to the possibility of having to come back and re-apply, which is expensive from a labor standpoint. It also doesn’t seem to last that long. The companies we have seen using this type of product normally set the customer up on a maintenance program that has the company come out every six months to re-apply. When they do come out, they are only spot cleaning and not re-applying to the entire roof.
This type of product is also normally applied by walking on the roof, which opens your roof up to the potential for broken tiles. It does, however, allow the company to apply less chemical since they are walking the entire roof.
In summary, for homeowners that are overly concerned about plant damage and don’t mind waiting for results, rain-activated roof cleaners can be a solid option. The customer just needs to understand that it will be expensive over time and they will probably need to enroll in a roof maintenance program to maintain their clean roof.